Jim Hillibish: Ancient Mexican chocolate a godly’ ingredient

Long before the conquistadors arrived, chocolate was a condiment in Mexican cookery. It was a bitter cocoa powder made from cacao trees, so valued it eventually became a currency.

Jim Hillibish

Bitter chocolate came before sweet chocolate. In Mexico, they called it “the food of the gods.”

Long before the conquistadors arrived, chocolate was a condiment in Mexican cookery. It was a bitter cocoa powder made from cacao trees, so valued it eventually became a currency.

Its primary use was in a semi-sweet beverage, which survives today. This is a ceremonial wedding drink, where the bride and groom drink it from the same goblet. Cacao beans were fermented and crushed, forming a foamy liquid. Part of the crop went into a spice, flavored with hot chilies, vanilla, honey and other ingredients. It was craved on caramelized roasted meats.

To the Europeans, chocolate was the first caffeine-stimulated drink, followed a century later by coffee and tea.

Today, cocoa powder is similar to the old. You can make a steak rub with it or purchase a cocoa-chile blend, such as McCormick’s. Nestle sells solid Mexican chocolate under its Abuelita brand. Hershey’s markets unsweetened cocoa powder in baking departments.